NDAQ earnings analysis
What we found in NDAQ's 10-Q: the parts that mattered, the offsets in the same document, and what the company said about what comes next.
Our reading of the filing · Free to read, no account needed
Nasdaq reported strong Q1 2026 results with revenues less transaction-based expenses of $1,407 million, up 13.8% year-over-year, and operating income of $657 million, up 20.1%. GAAP diluted EPS was $0.91 and non-GAAP diluted EPS was $0.96; Financial Technology and Index businesses drove the quarter while Market Services showed mixed results. Management expects approximately $140 million of additional pre-tax restructuring charges related to the Adenza program and continues active capital return under a repurchase program with $2.9 billion remaining authorization.
The parts that mattered.
Pulled out of the filing itself, with the figures the company reported.
- Top-line beat and double-digit growth
- Revenues less transaction-based expenses were $1,407 million, a 13.8% increase versus $1,237 million in Q1 2025.
- Operating income and net income expansion
- Operating income rose to $657 million (up 20.1% YoY) and net income increased to $519 million (up 31.4% YoY).
- Earnings per share improvement
- GAAP diluted EPS was $0.91 versus $0.68 in Q1 2025 (33.3% improvement); non-GAAP diluted EPS was $0.96.
- Financial Technology momentum
- Financial Technology revenue was $517 million, up 19.7% versus $432 million, with Management noting 20% revenue growth and 18% ARR growth in the quarter.
- Index / ETP scale gains
- Index business TTM net inflows were $79 billion and ETP AUM was $836 billion as of March 31, 2026; quarterly average ETP AUM hit $877 billion.
- Share repurchase capacity
- As of March 31, 2026 the remaining authorized repurchase amount was $2.9 billion; the company repurchased 6,318,814 shares in the quarter at an average price of $86.67.
And the other side of it.
The offsets in the same document — the things a summary that only listed the good news would have left out.
- Restructuring charges to continue
- Management expects to incur approximately $140 million in pre-tax charges related to the Adenza restructuring program (expected costs to be recognized in H1 2026).
- Higher operating expenses
- Operating expenses increased to $750 million in Q1 2026 from $690 million in Q1 2025, an 8.8% increase, pressuring near-term margins.
- Market Services headwinds in total revenue
- Total Market Services revenue declined 8.1% to $1,047 million from $1,140 million in Q1 2025, even as Market Services, net rose to $317 million from $281 million.
- Larger effective tax rate
- Income tax provision rose to $158 million and the effective tax rate increased to 23.4% in Q1 2026 from 19.1% in Q1 2025.
- Legal / regulatory and other adjustments
- Non-GAAP adjustments include $62 million for legal and regulatory matters and $14 million of other losses impacting comparability.
- Significant drop in Other revenues
- Other revenues declined to $8 million in Q1 2026 from $16 million in Q1 2025, a 50.6% decrease (reflects prior-year components such as Solovis divestiture).
What they reported.
What the company itself reported, taken out of the document.
- Earnings per share
- $0.91
- Operating margin
- 46.717887%
- Segment
- Capital Access Platforms: $565 million (+11.4% YoY vs $508 million)
- Segment
- Financial Technology: $517 million (+19.7% YoY vs $432 million)
- Segment
- Market Services: $1,047 million (-8.1% YoY vs $1,140 million)
- Segment
- Other revenues: $8 million (-50.6% YoY vs $16 million)
- Segment
- Total revenues: $2,137 million (+2.0% YoY vs $2,096 million)
- Segment
- Revenues less transaction-based expenses: $1,407 million (+13.8% YoY vs $1,237 million)
What they said about what is next.
The 10-Q does not provide explicit numeric revenue or EPS guidance. Management discloses it expects to incur approximately $140 million of pre-tax restructuring charges related to Adenza and reports $2.9 billion remaining under the share repurchase program as of March 31, 2026. (Outlook on operating expense was updated publicly in an 8-K; the 10-Q itself does not state full-year revenue/EPS guidance.)
The filing reads better than the one before it.
What came before.
- 10-K · February 12, 2026
- Nasdaq’s 2025 10-K reiterates its strategy to transform from an exchange operator into a technology platform (’One Nasdaq’), building scale in listings, indices, data and fintech (notably Verafin and Adenza). The filing…
- 10-K · February 21, 2025
- Nasdaq’s 2024 10‑K emphasizes its strategy to expand non‑trading technology and data businesses (Capital Access Platforms, Financial Technology, Market Services) and highlights scale in listings, indices and SaaS…
- 10-Q · October 29, 2024
- Nasdaq reported Q3 2024 revenue of $1,902,000,000 (up $451,000,000 vs Q3 2023) with operating income of $448,000,000. Revenue growth was broad-based (Financial Technology and Market Services led), but gross and…
- 10-K · February 21, 2024
- Nasdaq positions itself as a global technology company focused on liquidity, transparency and integrity, with a strategy concentrated on anti-financial‑crime & compliance, marketplace technology, workflow/insight…
This is our reading of a public filing, not the filing. Read the original on SEC.gov · Educational only. Nothing here is investment advice.
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